War As A Way Of Life

Workers tasked by the Iraqi government to clean up the oil fires started by ISIS in Qayyarah, Iraq. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Scars from a battle with ISIS outside Qayyarah. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Scars from a battle with ISIS outside Qayyarah. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Scars from a battle with ISIS outside Qayyarah. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Maad Mohaamed is a “fixer,” someone who provides access to restricted sites, serves as translator, bribes officials, and, most importantly, tries to not get those who hire him killed. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Here, Mohaamed swipes through the “war selfies” on his phone. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

A boy displaced by the fighting in Mosul, now living in the shell of a building outside Erbil, Iraq. Photo by Al Kamalizad.

Displaced children living in abandoned construction sites outside Erbil. Photo by Al Kamalizad.

A family who fled their homes near Mosul, Iraq—now living in an abandoned hotel they've made their home for the last two years. Photo by Al Kamalizad.

Inside a tent at a displaced persons camp outside Qayarrah, where a family lives after fleeing Mosul. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Only about a dozen phone operators at the United Nations' Internally Displaced Persons Information Center—located in this repurposed shipping container on the sandy outskirts of Erbil, Iraq—do their best to serve the entire country. Photo by Al Kamalizad.

The bulk of the work boils down to two tasks: The first is cataloguing atrocities in Excel spreadsheets. Photo by Al Kamalizad.

The second is listening with empathy. Photo by Al Kamalizad.

In November of 2016, photographer Al Kamalizad worked with filmmaker and journalist Aaron Ohlmann to document the effects of ongoing war in Iraq on those displaced by the conflict.

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Workers tasked by the Iraqi government to clean up the oil fires started by ISIS in Qayyarah, Iraq. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Scars from a battle with ISIS outside Qayyarah. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Scars from a battle with ISIS outside Qayyarah. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Scars from a battle with ISIS outside Qayyarah. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Maad Mohaamed is a “fixer,” someone who provides access to restricted sites, serves as translator, bribes officials, and, most importantly, tries to not get those who hire him killed. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Here, Mohaamed swipes through the “war selfies” on his phone. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

A boy displaced by the fighting in Mosul, now living in the shell of a building outside Erbil, Iraq. Photo by Al Kamalizad.

Displaced children living in abandoned construction sites outside Erbil. Photo by Al Kamalizad.

A family who fled their homes near Mosul, Iraq—now living in an abandoned hotel they've made their home for the last two years. Photo by Al Kamalizad.

Inside a tent at a displaced persons camp outside Qayarrah, where a family lives after fleeing Mosul. Photo by Aaron Ohlmann.

Only about a dozen phone operators at the United Nations' Internally Displaced Persons Information Center—located in this repurposed shipping container on the sandy outskirts of Erbil, Iraq—do their best to serve the entire country. Photo by Al Kamalizad.

The bulk of the work boils down to two tasks: The first is cataloguing atrocities in Excel spreadsheets. Photo by Al Kamalizad.